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The Accelerating Internet and How To Provide Free WiFi for Downtown
05.11.2010Posted by: Ben
We have seen a true explosion of wireless internet in the 21st century. First came local Wi-Fi networks, public and private. Next came faster data on phones. This trend will continue and market forces will essentially create better service for more consumers and less or equivalent costs. Would you switch to faster internet for the same price? If you could ditch the wires and get the same service, why not?* The speed of the internet continues to increase at approximately 50% per year overall. This trend is likely affecting wireless speeds as well.
* Mobile phone companies are pouring billions into network upgrades, with many introducing "3G" services (which are approximately equal to a DSL modem).
* In 2011 the next to arrive in wireless are "WiMAX" and 4g products with 40-100 Mbit/second (26 times faster than T1, 13 times faster than cable modem, equivalent to direct-to-home BTES fiber optic).
* According to Rick Boucher, in 2014-15 we will have sorted out the spectrum that was freed up from the recent move to DTV.
* In 2015, a conservative estimate is that your mobile device will be able to recieve 125 megabytes per second, or 1,000 thick books in 8 seconds.
* As far as ground-based local networks, the 100Gbit barrier has already been broken (1,250 megabytes per second) and will certainly be widely available at some point in the future.
With the local power of BTES and BVU Optinet, among other players, it seems possible to provide downtown-wide broadband wireless. How? If every business on State Street has internet already (a likely scenario) and they installed a $50 wireless router with public access and local network protections, the entire downtown would be covered, at a low cost.
I know for a fact that there are already multiple public wifi locations in downtown and have even helped someone set one up (more on that later). To me, this kind of grassroots internet is the fastest way to a very attractive and cool feature for a downtown area.
The main barrier is a fear that someone might use the internet for nefarious purposes, which is certainly something a single entity may not want to take on (like a city government). However, this fear is unfounded. According to the Bar Association "Under current U.S. federal law, those who provide access to the Internet to third parties are not liable for the acts of these third parties. Further, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Communications Decency Act both include safe harbors that state that Internet service providers are not liable for content transmitted through their services."
A secondary barrier is someone "taking up too much" and slowing down your network, like maybe a residential neighbor. This can be potentially tricky, but there are some built-in features you can use like blocking particular people or even limiting bandwidth usage on your device (Quality of Service). Basically, WiFi etiquette is that downtown residents just need to get their own dang hotspot.
Every business downtown should have a WiFi access point if they have internet service currently and it should be made public, with local network protections. If any local downtown business wants our help with this, we will give it a fair attempt at no charge (you buy the router).
Another way you can help provide continuous access is to turn your smartphone in to an access point or use a device like MiFi. Both iPhones and Android phones can have the capability to provide excellent wireless internet access to guests around you.
With an already strong core wired network in our community, if you have a connection to it there is no reason why you shouldn't broadcast that signal wirelessly.
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